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Observation: Corkscrew Glades

Observation Date
3/8/2024
Observer Name
Staples, Garcia, Van Wetter
Region
Moab » Corkscrew Glades
Location Name or Route
Corkscrew Glades
Weather
Sky
Broken
Weather Comments
The day started sunny but became mostly cloudy with periods of both sun and snow
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
3"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Characteristics Comments
The most recent 3 inches of snow really improved conditions. It had a lot of graupel in it.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
The old November and December snow really seems to be dormant. We couldn't get any fractures on that old snow unless we pounded on columns well beyond 30 taps. These results are consistent with what other people have been finding.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
The weakest snow in the snowpack was BY FAR just under the newest snow. This layer was the snow surface became faceted and was buried on either February 27th or the night of March 3rd. See the video below. We could feel this layer easily with our hands, with our ski poles, and when our skins would occasionally slip in the weak facets.
This layer likely produced one collapse for us with a shooting crack where there was isolated drifting by terrain driven winds.
It doesn't seem like much of a problem at the moment as it required taps in the teens to break and would not propagate. A propagation saw test showed that this layer need more of a load and a connected slab on top (photo below showing how the thin slab would fracture before the weak layer would propagate a crack. I would avoid any location with localized drifting of the new snow.
As for the distribution of this layer, it may be somewhat widespread on northerly facing slopes because winds have been light during the period when we thing it formed. Fortunatley, because it's so shallow, you can look for it and test it very easily and quickly. With no storm on the horizon, it shouldn't be much of an issue.
Video
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Low
Coordinates